~NightSky

By Michael Snyder

If you are like most Americans, the cost of living has been going up much faster than your income has been. Right now, millions of Americans that were once prospering are now deeply struggling. When I was growing up, most of the population could afford to live “the American Dream”, but now that is no longer true. At this point, the basics of a middle class lifestyle are out of reach for most Americans. Poverty and homelessness are steadily rising, and the economy has become the number one issue during this election cycle. Most of us just want things to go back to the way that they once were, but thanks to the very foolish decisions of our leaders that simply is not possible.

According to a brand new report that was just released, it now takes over $100,000 a year for the typical family to live “the American Dream” in all 50 states, and in 29 of those states it actually takes over $150,000 a year…

A household would have to spend more than $150,000 a year to live the dream in 29 of the 50 states, according to an analysis published in April by the personal finance site GOBankingRates.

According to the report, the optimal American lifestyle would cost $137,842 a year in Ohio, $147,535 in Texas, $159,932 in Florida, $194,067 in New York and $245,723 in California.

I had no idea that the cost of living “the American Dream” had gotten that high.

Illinois was ranked 26th on that list, and so it provides a pretty good snapshot of what the average U.S. household is facing right now…

Median home price: $255,278

Annual childcare costs: $24,174

Annual mortgage costs: $21,401

Car costs: $8,709

Grocery costs: $8,143

Healthcare costs: $7,021

Utilities costs: $5,278

Education costs: $2,475

Pet costs: $1,170

Total annual costs: $78,369

Full cost of the American Dream: $156,739

Did your household bring in at least $150,000 last year?

If not, living “the American Dream” would not be possible for you in most states.

Needless to say, the vast majority of U.S. households are not bringing in that kind of income.

Last December, Investopedia issued a report that concluded that it now takes 3.4 million dollars to live “the American Dream” for an entire lifetime…

Another report, released in December by the financial media site Investopedia, estimates what the American Dream costs across an entire lifetime: $3.4 million.

That is a staggering sum, Investopedia observes, considering what the average American earns in a lifetime: about $2.3 million.

Housing costs are the number one reason why “the American Dream” is now out of reach for most of the U.S. population.

During the pandemic, home prices shot up at an absolutely frightening pace…

The median sale price for an existing home rose more than 40% between early 2020 and mid-2022, topping out at a seasonal peak just over $400,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates have risen to very painful levels.

The average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage was sitting at just over 3 percent at the beginning of 2022.

Today, it is sitting at more than 7.2 percent…

Mortgage rates climbed again this week, exacerbating the home affordability crisis that is stifling the housing market.

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 7.22% this week from 7.17% last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.39% a year ago.

The monthly payment on a 30 year fixed mortgage at 7.2 percent for a $400,000 home would be $2,715 a month.

Who can afford that?

Some people can.

But most of the population cannot.

That helps to explain why the percentage of renters that believe that they will someday be able to afford to purchase a home has dropped to an all-time low…

The dream of home ownership has gotten even further away for renters, with higher housing costs and elevated interest rates standing in the way of the American housing dream, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Monday.

The share of renters as of February who possess hopes of “residential mobility,” or the belief from renters that they one day will be able to afford a home, fell to a record low 13.4% in the central bank’s annual housing survey for 2024.

That’s down from 15% in 2023 and well off the 20.8% series high back in 2014.

If they work hard and do the right things, most Americans just want to be able to provide a nice life for themselves and their families.

But during the Biden years that has become increasingly difficult to do.

As a result, the amount of confidence that the American people have in Joe Biden has plummeted…

In a Gallup poll published on Monday, only 38% of Americans said they still had confidence in Biden to lead the country and do the right thing for America’s economy. This figure is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since George W. Bush took office in 2001, Gallup reported.

“With Americans less optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy than they have been in recent months and concern about inflation persisting, their confidence in President Joe Biden to recommend or do the right thing for the economy is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since 2001,” Gallup reported.

The current low for Biden continues a substantial fall from when he first took office. As recently as 2022, the same poll found Biden’s confidence ratings were at 57%. It swiftly fell to 40% and has remained below that mark since.

I believe that this is going to be a very tumultuous election season.

And I am convinced that we will see even more chaos after the election than we will before it.

The American people desperately want change.

But instead, things just continue to get even worse month after month.

Decades of very foolish decisions have brought us to this point, and trying to turn this ship around is not going to be easy.